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Government Building

Greece's legislature has given the green light a disputed work legislation that permits 13-hour work shifts, despite fierce resistance and countrywide protests.

Government officials claimed the law will update the country's work laws, but opposition figures from the progressive party described it as a "regulatory disaster."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the freshly approved legislation, annual overtime is capped at one hundred and fifty hours, while the regular forty-hour workweek continues as before.

Officials emphasizes that the extended shift is elective, solely affects the private sector, and can exclusively be applied for up to thirty-seven days each year.

Political Support and Opposition

Thursday's vote was backed by MPs from the ruling conservative party, with the centre-left faction – currently the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the left-wing group did not vote.

Worker organizations have organized multiple protests calling for the bill's withdrawal this month that halted public transport and public services to a stop.

Official Justification and Worker Safeguards

A senior official supported the legislation, stating the changes align Greek legislation with current labor-market realities, and accused critics of misleading the public.

The laws will provide workers the choice to accept additional hours with the current company for 40% higher compensation, while guaranteeing they will not be dismissed for refusing overtime.

The measure follows European Union labor rules, which cap the average week to forty-eight hours including extra hours but allow adjustments over a year, as stated by the government.

Critical Perspectives and Union Responses

However, opposition parties have charged the administration of weakening workers' rights and "driving the country back to a medieval work era." They say Greek workers already put in more time than most EU citizens while earning less and still "face financial difficulties."

A major labor organization stated variable shifts in practice mean "the end of the standard workday, the destruction of personal time and the authorization of over-exploitation."

Previous Workplace Changes and Economic Context

In 2024, Greece enacted a six-day work schedule for specific industries in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of the summer, permit employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

European Work Statistics and Greek Financial Metrics

• Throughout the European Union in 2024, the highest working weeks were observed in the Hellenic Republic, followed by Bulgaria, Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).
• The lowest work hours in the union is in the Netherlands, as per EU statistics.
• Starting this year, the nation's national base pay was nine hundred sixty-eight euros a month, ranking it in the bottom group among European nations.
• Joblessness, which had peaked at 28% during the economic downturn, was eight point one percent in the summer compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, figures from the statistical office show.
• Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which concluded in recent years, but salaries and living standards continue to be among the lowest in the European Union.